Mex

Moderator

Posts : 595Points : 1056Join date : 2010-09-02

Looking through the entries it seems a little light on. I am a little surprised as there are not too many 200m races on offer. At the very least there are a number of athletes who may be targeting Jack later in the year that could do with a metre or two. When I saw VRTA back I had pegged an athlete to win but they do not seem to have entered yet. Could we see the old fashioned chase in this one? Stevens and Hughes. Back marker getting to the front marker in a final in the last few strides. That would be good but I think Hughes has a very good mark given that he ran third at Stawell of the very same. Is it his to lose? Can Whittaker use his second place mark at Stawell to take it home? Two very good athletes out in front.

GLPR

Mex

Moderator

Posts : 595Points : 1056Join date : 2010-09-02

I usually wait for a Friday before going over the tips but given that the spread is far and wide I thought a quick post would be alright. I have learnt a lesson for this poll in that someone kindly voted for everyone and that throws out the balance. Can we please try to limit our voting to 3 or 4 selections. This will give us a good spread of who people think may be the main chances. I also usually only talk about those who have 8% of the vote or higher, so keep that in mind if you want an inside word on any athlete.

Tim Rosen 20m / Nick Howard 23m 11% - Nick Howard has a good mark but has he turned the speed on enough to really challenge? I think he would find the main race still a bit too tough. I do like his chances in the slightly longer format though. Here he is. The man we have all been waiting for. The man who trains on Sundays at 10.30am even when there are other people on the track. Look, we all know that I have used 'The King of the Gifts' to highlight some points previously but let's put this another way. Is Tim not the perfect example of how Pro Running works? You get a mark, you run to the best of your ability. You win races. You improve where you can. You get a mark you can win off and do it all again. He may not have won off a back mark but there are plenty of athletes who haven't done that either. Tim is a really good chance to win this 200m. The same goes though, does he have his eyes on a bigger 200m later in the year? This could be almost a free hit for "The Man' as he will be eying off a sprint gift this season and I for one think he will take a decent one. Howard - semi at best, Rosen - top 3.

Whittaker 25m / Biggs 26m 11% - Votes not for Biggs when he has Whittaker on his hammer. Darren has been a quality athlete for a number of years. I have not so secretly wanted him to win a major gift for a long time and I think most people who have been around for even a little while know that he is a genuine competitor, very focused but a decent young man as well. He ran a very close second in the 200m at Stawell, narrowly beating home Hughes. On the tartan track I feel he would get in front of Hughes and he may not be headed. I hope he runs this one and gets a sniff. Biggs - heat. Whittaker - top 3

Condello 26m / Hughes 26m 12% - Condello must be looking at some training during this run. Hughes was the favourite for the 2017 200m at Stawell before he got injured. He kept his mark and had another crack in 2018 and was narrowly beaten. Another quality older athlete who always turns up fit. I do not recall a time when he has presented overweight! As some of the athletes get older they fall off a bit, Hughes has hung around and he may have another good run in him yet. I kind of think that he may miss this one with the other getting more benefit out of the track than he will. He is another one I hope to see win again at some stage. I think he will miss out on this one though. Condello - heat. Hughes - final

Maybe my comments when I posted the poll influenced the voting too much. Either way, good luck to those who are competing.